The continuing proliferation of powerful and convenient computational devices, such as personal computers, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, etc., has been accompanied by a growth in the use of networks to connect these devices. Further, developments in network technology are increasing the ways computer users interact and communicate with one another. For example, electronic mail may currently be sent to some wireless telephones rather than, or in addition to, a personal computer. In addition to personal computers, cellular phones and personal digital assistants may be used to access the Internet. The interaction between networked computational devices often involves the transfer of directories and files (“items”) between remote locations. Access to data located on remote computers permits users to easily modify items using any computer on a network. This increased connectivity permits greater sharing of information and freedom to choose locations to modify or update data.
Computer technology is now being used for a range of applications by users that are relatively technologically unsophisticated. Because the vast majority of the users of computational devices are not technologically sophisticated, software engineers and others who build software utilize various graphical interfaces designed to simplify the use of such devices. Graphical user interfaces employ pictorial depictions, such as icons, to convey information. Pictorial depictions may convey any number of different items to computer 5 users. Icons, for example, convey item metadata to users, such as the name and origin of the items. Preferably, pictorial depictions convey information which is self-evident or otherwise easily understood.
The growth in network connectivity has also been accompanied by advances in methods for managing and manipulating data located on remote computers. In some instances, users may not be aware that items being accessed by the user's local (host) device are actually located on a different (remote) device. For example, some distributed file systems group directories and files located on remote computers into the same file system for viewing and modification by local devices networked to the remote computers. From the user's perspective, both local and remote data appears to be similarly located because of the organizational structure of the file system. However, the actual location of data may be distributed among one or more remote machines.
A loss of a local or host device network connection renders directories and files located on remote devices unavailable. When directories are not available, their entries in the file system of the local devices are removed. As a result, the name-space of a file system is different, depending on whether a local device is or is not networked to remote devices. When connected, users are able to view items located on both the local device and on remote devices. However, when disconnected, users are only able to view items located on the local device. Since a user may not be aware that the no longer viewable directories and files are remotely located, the user may believe that data has been destroyed. Even though data has not been destroyed and will again become available when an appropriate network connection is again established, any perception by a user that data has been destroyed is undesirable.
Typically, when a network connection is lost, all information associated with remote items becomes inaccessible to users, including any associated metadata such as directory and file name, size, and application of origin. In some instances, it is desirable to allow a user of a local device to access remote directory and file metadata even when the local device is no longer networked to a remote device that contains the files and/or directories.
In order to avoid a user perception that temporarily unavailable remote items are destroyed when a device becomes disconnected from a network, there is a need for a system and method that implements a consistent user name-space regardless of whether a device is or is not connected to a network. Preferably, the existence of unavailable items will be conveyed to the user through a visual cue that is easily understood. Also, there is a need to permit users to access remote item metadata when items are otherwise unavailable because, for example, a local device is no longer connected to a network.